Buckle for apparel



y 1936- J. B. FREYSINGER I 2,046,734

BUCKLE FOR APPAREL Filed Jan. 15, 1955 w A I TIUTTI! I l I J 5 7 1 i?will I /J I Z0 z; I I

i3 U I ll L/ hn 5. .Freysz'ng er Patented July 7, 1936 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE BUCKLE FOR APPAREL ncct'icut Application January 15, 1935,Serial No. 1,933

3. Claims. (01. 24230) This invention relates to buckles for wearingapparel, such as belts.

The aim of the invention is to provide an improved buckle which may beeconomically manufactured and the parts of which may be very quickly andconveniently connected together and disconnected from one another.

In accordance with the present invention, the locking arrangementbetween the two members of the buckle is very simple in construction, iseffective in operation, and is such that close tolerances need not beobserved in the manufacture of the parts. be. assembled bymerelyslippin'g one plate member behind the other and may be separatedby urging one end of one of the plates rearwardly and then. sliding themembers apart.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplifled in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing wherein is shown, for illustrative purposes,one embodiment which the present invention may take,

Figure 1 is a front view of the buckle as applied to the ends of a belt;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the assembled buckle;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the front member of the buckle;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the rear member of the buckle;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the assembled buckle, this view beingtaken substantially on line 55 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 but showing the parts in the act ofbeing assembled.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide a front plate A anda rear plate B adapted to telescope in behind the plate A and to bedetachably connected thereto. These plates, which may be of any suitableor desired shape and configuration, are formed from sheet metal. In Fig.1 they are shown as being respectively connected to the ends of a belt9.

The plate A is, by preference, longitudinally curved and has, at itsupper and lower edges, rearwardly and inwardly turned flanges I whichare also preferably longitudinally curved correspondingly to thecurvature of the body portion of the plate A, as shown in Figs. and 6.At one side of the body portion of the plate A is a lat- The two partsofthe buckle may erally extending portion H the opposite ends of which arebent rearwardly so as to provide lugs l2. These lugs are apertured toreceive the pivots l3 on the opposite ends of a clamping member 14 whichmay be of the usual construction. The plate A, at its opposite edge, hasa rearwardly directed locking lip l5.

The rear plate B is substantially flat and is of such size that itsupper and lower edges will engage behind the curved flanges ID. Thisrear plate is provided with a centrally disposed spring tongue 20 struckout of the metal of the plate. The spring is provided at its free endwith an angular portion which forms a bump 22 adapted to engage the rearface of the body portion of the plate A when the parts are assembled.The plate B has a laterally extending offset portion 23 provided withcars 24 adapted to pivotally support a clamping member 25 similar to theclamping member I4. At the juncture of the body portion of the plate Band the extension 23 is a vertical slot 26 adapted to receive thelocking lip l5 when the parts are in the assembled position shown inFig. 5. The rear plate is of such size and shape that, when the partsare assembled, the upper and lower marginal edges of the rear plate willengage behind the flanges Ill, and the line of engagement between therear plate and the flanges (approximately the position designated by thenumeral 30 in Fig. 5) is located. between the interlocking lip and slotat one side and the point of engagement of the spring against the frontplate at the other side.

It is observed that the curved flanges form fulcrums, so to speak, forthe rear plate and the rear plate slides along these flanges during theoperation of assembling the parts. When the parts are assembled, asshown in Fig. 5, the rear plate is fulcrumed substantially at 30, andthe bump 22 of the spring engages the rear plate to the inner side ofthis fulcrum so that the outer end of the plate is urged towards theplate A thereby resiliently holding the plates in such position that thelocking lip engages in the slot 26. It will further be seen that abuckle construction in accordance with the present invention is ofextreme simplicity and may be very economically manufactured.

With the arrangement described, when it is desired to connect the twomembers forming the buckle, the leading ends of the upper and lowermarginal edges of the plate B are engaged in the guideways providedbehind the flanges I I] and then the plates are slid towards each otheruntil the slot 26 registers with the lip l5 whereupon, due to pressureexerted by the spring tongue 20, the plate B will swing about the curvedflanges from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 5,thereby engaging the lip IS in the notch 26. To disengage the parts, itis merely necessary to push rearwardly on the extending portion 23 ofthe plate B until the slot I6 is free of the lip l5 and then slide theplates apart.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A buckle of the character described comprising two separable platemembers, one of said members being provided at its top and bottom edgeswith rearwardly and inwardly turned portions forming guideways betweenthemselves and the body portion thereof, the inwardly turned portionsbeing curved longitudinally of the buckle, said plate member also havinga locking lip at one side, the other of said plate members having itsupper and lower marginal edges engaging in said curved guideways andfulcrumed on the curved surfaces of said inwardly turned portions, thesecond mentioned plate member having a slot adjacent one side adapted toreceive said locking lip, said second mentioned plate having a springengaging said first plate member to one side of the line of fulcrumbetween the members and said lip and slot being to the opposite side ofsaid line.

2. A buckle of the character described" comprising a front plate memberand a rear plate member, said front plate member having at its top andlower edges inwardly turned flanges convexly curved in the direction oftheir lengths, said front plate member also having a locking lip at oneend, said rear plate member having its upper and lower marginal edgesengaging in the guideways provided by said flanges and resting againstsaid flanges, said rear plate member having an integral spring fingeradapted to bear against said front plate, said rear plate member alsohaving a'slot remote from the spring finger and adjacent one end adaptedto receive said locking lip.

3. A buckle of the character described having a separable front platemember and a rear plate member each formed of sheet metal, said frontplate member being longitudinally curved and having at its upper andlower edges inwardly turned similarly longitudinally curved flanges,said front plate member having at one side edge a rearwardly directedlocking lip, said rear plate member having a slot at one edge and anintegral struck-out spring finger, said rear plate member having itsupper and lower marginal edges engaging behind and fulcrumed on thecurved contour of said flanges, and said spring finger engaging saidfront plate member to that side of the line of fulcrum between the saidflanges and rear plate which is opposite said locking lip.

JOHN B. FREYSINGER.

